Difficulty: Challenger (Level 2)
Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that you could not get rid of? Or maybe you keep humming an upbeat tune you heard at the mall?
This is called an earworm. It is the name for a song that keeps playing in your brain. Dr Ken Fung, director of therapy and counselling at Jadis Blurton Family Development Centre in Hong Kong, explained why this happens and how you could use earworms to help you study.
“Earworms are also called stuck song syndrome. Most of us [have this] experience, when songs keep replaying in our heads,” Fung said.
The psychologist said this could happen with songs with catchy tunes and repetitive lyrics. Some examples include “Baby Shark” and BTS’s “Dynamite”.
“The more memorable a song is, the more likely it is to wriggle into your brain,” he said.
Music for memory
Earworms are not just about feelings. They can help us remember things better when we study.
Fung said a study done in 2021 found that the songs that get stuck in our heads help strengthen memories as they first form.
Researchers conducted experiments with students. They asked them to listen to unfamiliar music while watching short videos. Their research found that the better students remembered the music, the more accurately they remembered the videos.
“This is a form of conditioning using an auditory cue,” Fung said. The cue acts like a prompt. For example, the Star Wars song “The Imperial March” warns that we will see Darth Vader in a scene.
“We can apply the same theory when we are studying for exams, especially if there are a lot of complicated details to remember,” Fung said.
The idea is to pair revision with a specific song we enjoy. If that song gets stuck in our head, it might be easier to recall the information we studied with the song.
“But there is no guarantee this will work. The song needs to be catchy enough to become an earworm. Ideally, it should also have some personal significance to you,” he explained.
There are still some benefits to studying with music even if this does not work. Our favourite songs can help calm us down before exams. Classical music also helps our brains learn things faster.
“Again, this is not for everyone,” Fung cautioned. “The music has to work for you. If you are distracted and finding it hard to focus, you should probably switch to something else.”
Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.
Sample answers
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Before you read: Answers may vary.
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Stop and think: The result of this experiment was that students could recall more of the videos if they better remembered the music they listened to.
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Consider: Dr Fung said that while you revise material, you should listen to one catchy song that you enjoy.
